Kire pouted when he insisted that she lay off the cake for breakfast, but nevertheless waited for him to heat up last night’s pork. As he busied himself, she set plates down for the both of them and reread the letter. “Aside from the peculiarity of waking up to a forest at your doorstep?” She shrugged. “Doesn’t say much in the report. Only that they’ve been ‘seeing things’, like dreams. Strange noises. Shadows.” 

She considered his offer, unsure about how she felt about it. “We do make a good team,” she put in, but even as she knew this to be true, and knowing he and Ysaryn were more than capable of holding their own in a conflict, magical or not, she couldn’t help remember the terrible recovery Ruli had gone through with the poison. Asking him to help set up wards around a Palace now that they’d won it back was one thing, but jumping back into potential danger that she had no clue about was another. “I suppose…if it’s just reconnaissance for now, wouldn’t hurt to have more eyes on the thing.” She set down the papers in her hand and leaned back.

To his answer about the wards, she gasped in mock indignation. “You mean bedding the Empress of Amria isn’t compensation enough?” She chuckled, shaking her head. “That can be arranged. I was thinking more proper compensation though, as in monetary. If the previous decrees against large-scale magic and sorcery are going to be lifted—especially since we’ve been mucking about with wards, ourselves, anyway—it’d be nice to have things standardized for reference. We can talk later about pay, and goods in exchange for your services, plus covering whatever expenses are involved in the making of it.” She paused in thought. “Before the ban, this was maybe three or four generations ago, the Capital used to have a High Sorcerer employed by the Emperor.” Kire rested her chin on her hand as she watched him, smirking. “’Rulitus, High Sorcerer of Amria’.” She snorted a bit at that. “That should amuse Envy.” 

--

Ed was about to answer Zeke when Ysaryn’s angry voice called out to the both of them. Ed offered no rebuttal, lips pursed as she rounded on Zeke next. He felt sorry for the man for an honest mistake. [i]Really, you should’ve known better,[/i] he chastised himself, watching the sparring match begin. Or it wasn’t so much a sparring match as a way for Ysaryn to take her frustration out at them. Not too different from Kire there. Though Zeke was correct; Ysaryn was [i]vicious[/i]. Ed took off his coat as he observed, then loosened the cuffs of his sleeves, rolling them up. 

Zeke wasn’t a bad opponent, either. Had they had the leisure of time, and better circumstances, he would have offered to spar with him, too. Instead, he watched the two of them, noting strengths and possible weaknesses, all while wondering whether or not he should let Ysaryn win, if he had the upper hand. He couldn’t help but smirk though; seeing the elf fight, there was no guarantee at all that he would even get the opportunity to have the upper hand in this match. 

When it was his turn, he sighed, taking the training sword from Zeke after giving him a pat on the shoulder. He didn’t speak, knowing anything he said now would just irritate her further, and knowing Ysaryn would launch into an attack immediately. She was quick, having the grace of Jan and the temper of Kire rolled into one, if Ed were to compare her with anybody he knew. But now that she was angry, definitely more similar to Kire there. He blocked and parried, bidding his time, keeping pace with her, until he found an opportunity to deploy a maneuver, he had learned from the Raielwen, combined with an Amrian technique. 

[i]Let her win.[/i] At the last second, he fumbled it, and he felt the hit from her sparring sword. He went down hard, wincing as he hit the ground. He hissed as he rolled onto his back, panting. “Yeah. I deserved that.”